Lena Dunham on Her Fitness Philosophy: 'It Ain't About the A--, It's About the Brain'

For Lena Dunham, working out is about a whole lot more than looking good.

“Promised myself I would not let exercise be the first thing to go by the wayside when I got busy with Girls Season 5 and here is why: it has helped with my anxiety in ways I never dreamed possible,” the actress, 28, captioned a photo of herself in a sports bra and printed leggings on Saturday.

“To those struggling with anxiety, OCD, depression: I know it’s mad annoying when people tell you to exercise, and it took me about 16 medicated years to listen,” she wrote on Instagram. “I’m glad I did. It ain’t about the a–, it’s about the brain.”

In addition to the Tracy Anderson Method, the Girls star recently told David Letterman she is doing “a variety of things” as part of her new “physical fitness kick,” including acro-yoga, which combines acrobatics and yoga movements.

“Part of the reason I wanted to do it was I was losing my breath when I walked up [a] stair,” Dunham told the late-night host. “And also, both my parents, who are 65, [ ] they’re both really exercise fiends. They look really hot, and I was just starting to feel like I was really dragging behind, and I was like, ‘You’re more than twice my age and I look like a bag of trash next to you.’ ”

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